“This couple ruthlessly stole from vulnerable homeowners who were forced to sell their homes due to hardship and who could not understand the complexities of a real estate closing,” said Attorney General Jeffrey S. Chiesa. “It is a sad reality that times of economic crisis bring out predators who exploit those who are desperate for solutions but lack financial sophistication. With these guilty pleas, we are sending a message that we will aggressively prosecute such criminals.”

In all, the investigation by the Division of Criminal Justice Financial & Computer Crimes Bureau revealed that the couple, using the real estate firm S&B Property Management and Maintenance LLC of Trenton, stole more than $600,000 from sellers in connection with 11 home sales, and defrauded mortgage companies of a total of $641,800 in proceeds of three home loans.

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Under their plea agreements, they will each face a sentence of five to 10 years in state prison and will be required to enter a consent judgment to pay restitution to the home sellers, as well as the mortgage lenders, to the extent that the lenders have sustained losses.

“Beyond stealing from victims who were down on their luck, these defendants defrauded mortgage lenders, falsifying mortgage applications so unqualified buyers could secure loans,” said Director Stephen J. Taylor of the Division of Criminal Justice. “The end result of mortgage fraud is typically foreclosure, which is destabilizing for housing markets and represents a lose-lose situation for lenders and homeowners. We’ve made prosecuting mortgage fraud a priority.”

The state’s investigation revealed that between August 2006 and February 2008, the couple stole more than $600,000 from clients who agreed to have Smith sell their homes. Smith and Betha allegedly diverted proceeds of the sales into their own bank accounts for their personal use, deceiving the sellers into believing they were not entitled to all of the profits from their homes.

Most of the sellers were having serious financial problems and could not continue paying their mortgages. Four of the 11 homes were in Trenton, two were in both Hamilton and Willingboro and the others were in Ewing, Orange and Camden.

In arranging for sales of three of the homes, Smith and Betha provided false information about the salary or wages of the buyers on settlement forms filed with the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) and mortgage applications, causing three mortgage companies to issue loans totaling about $641,800.

The couple used a variety of schemes to fraudulently divert proceeds from the home sales into bank accounts maintained by Smith and S&B.

They represented to sellers and title companies that money was owed to them for expenses, including property renovations and repairs that were never done and exorbitant consultant fees that they claimed the sellers had authorized.